MIAMI — The ultimate objective is for South Florida to land the golden anniversary Super Bowl.

But organizers first must settle a regional rivalry that pits Fort Lauderdale and Miami in a tussle over which would serve as the focal point for events during the week leading up to the 50th Super Bowl in 2016.

The NFL has a new requirement that cities bidding for the game specify an "urban core" as a focal point of activities, such as the NFL Experience. That came out of the popularity of this year's Super Bowl in Indianapolis, which was centralized in the downtown area.

Leaders of the Super Bowl effort in Broward and Miami-Dade counties were asked and recently made presentations to the South Florida Super Bowl Bid Committee about why the center of activities should be placed in their respective cities. There have also been reports of discord over the issue of how to resolve a possible conflict with the Miami International Boat Show if the game is scheduled on President's Day weekend.

Officials downplayed the notion of conflict between the counties during a news conference Tuesday at which a bid committee logo was unveiled and former Miami Dolphins greats Dan Marino, Bob Griese and Jason Taylor were introduced as honorary co-chairmen for South Florida's bid effort.

"Creating a warring faction between Miami-Dade and Broward has never done us any good," said Nicki Grossman, Broward's top tourism official and a long-time member of the Super Bowl Host Committee. "Ultimately, it will be a regional effort, and it will be unified."

South Florida was recently selected as a finalist for Super Bowl L, along with San Francisco. Owners of the 32 teams will vote to determine the host city on May 21 during their meeting in Boston. They will also award the 2017 game at that time, choosing between the 2016 runner-up and Houston.

Rodney Barreto, chairman of the committee, said a decision on the so-called urban core won't be made until March.

"I think the reality is both counties are going to benefit. At the end of the day, no one county is going to have it all," he said, noting there are well over 200 events during Super Bowl week. "I think we're going to have to still work together, the respective counties. I want to keep that dialogue going."

Of perhaps greater significance to the hope of securing the bid is the issue of renovations to aging Sun Life Stadium that would make it a more attractive site. The San Francisco Bay Area has at the centerpiece of its bid the $1.2 billion stadium under construction in Santa Clara that will become home to the 49ers in 2014.

Dolphins CEO Mike Dee said a plan will be revealed as soon as next month to address needs at 25-year-old Sun Life, such as adding seating closer to the field and lighting improvements.

He said it hasn't been determined whether such a project would be privately funded or if government money would be sought. An attempt to obtain hotel taxes from Miami-Dade and Broward toward more than $220 million in improvements, including a canopy roof over the seats, was resoundingly rejected in 2011.

"We're going to bid whether the stadium is in its current form or improved," Dee said. "But I think … our chances are enhanced a great deal by having a facility that, while it may not be as nice and new as Santa Clara's, remedies some of the shortcomings we currently face.

"We're working on a plan that we think would add the most value and have the biggest impact the the stadium."

Meanwhile, determining when the game will be played will be up to the NFL. The league wants bids to allow for the possibility of having the game on any of the first three weekends of February. Miami-Dade has a conflict the third week with two major events, the boat show in Miami Beach and the art festival in Coconut Grove.

Grossman said this is where having two viable areas for staging Super Bowl activities is an advantage to South Florida's bid.

Fort Lauderdale could provide a solution for a game on President's Day weekend with Las Olas Boulevard as the urban core. The most recent Super Bowl in South Florida, in 2010, had the majority of the week's activities based in Broward, including NFL headquarters and the media center.

"Broward County in 2010 gave the NFL a spectacular Super Bowl experience," Grossman said. "We are able to provide a bid on the third weekend that is being asked for on boat show weekend. So our bid can be complete with both of these communities putting in attractive packages. That's what we need to do. That's why we are blessed in South Florida to have more than one choice."

South Florida has avoided committing to a Super Bowl on boat show weekend on two previous occasions when the NFL requested that as an option. Grossman pointed out that in both cases the game was awarded to other cities, for 2013 and 2014.